Sand or grain distributer



P. J. OWEN.

SAND 0R GRAIN DISTRIBUIER. APPLICATION FILED MAR-31 1919- 15375,?99.

INVENTDR 1 J UWE/V P. J. OWEN.

SAND 0R GRAIN DISTRIBUTE APPLICATION FILED MAIL3I. 1919.

U a m. mm mm NW ,5 F. 6M v0 4 MJ. W H W M2 m P machine especially of that kind known as UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PETER J. OWEN, 01 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

SAND OR GRAIN DISTRIBUTER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, PETER J. OWEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Sand or Grain Distributers, of which the following is a specification.

One object of the present invention is to provide a self-propelled apparatus for distributing granular or pulverulent material such as sand or seed-grain or the like, evenly on a street or field, which will require but little attention on the part of the person in charge of the apparatus.

A further object is to provide such an apparatus by means of which a street sweeping the Elgin street sweeper illustrated in United States Letters Patent of September 4, 1914, can be readily converted into such a sand or grain distributer.

In the-accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side view, certain parts being omitted, of a street sweeping machine which is converted into my improved sand distributer; Fig. 2 is a similar view of the sand distributing machine; Fig. 3 is a vertical section through a chute; Fig. 4 is a vertical section through a distributer shaft; Fig. 5 is an enlarged front view of the sand container; Fig. 6 is an end view of the same; Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical section of a sand distributer; Fig. 8 is a broken plan view of the same;

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates the dust container of the Elgin street sweeping machine, the same being of an approximately box-shaped form and supported between a pair of front wheels 2, a single wheel 3 being used at the rear for steering the machine. Said container is arranged with its longitudinal axis parallel with the axles of said front wheels and with its sides making angles of approximately fortyfive degrees with the horizon. In the front lower side 4 of said container is hinged by hinges 6 at its upper edge, a door 7, per mitting access to the interior of the container for discharging the dusttherefrom. In converting the Elgin street sweeper into a sanding machine or grain distributer, this door is removed from its hinges and there is substituted therefor a door 8.

On the outer side of this door 8, and opposite to holes in the door, are bolted, as

Specification of Letters Patent. Pate t d A 2 1921.

Application filed March 31, 1919.

SeriaI No. 286,311.

shown at 11, plates 12 which then extend at angles of forty-five degrees with the horizon. On the lnner side of each plate and extending through the holes 9, is a vertically extending bearing 13, (Fig. 4), in which 1s a shaft 14, having a collar 16 which, secured to said shaft and supported upon the upper end of said bearing, supports the shaft. To the lower end of each shaft is plnned, as shown at 17 a conoidal casting 18, (F 1g. 7 to which is secured, by bolts 19, the upper end of a cylinder 21, the lower end of which has a horizontal and outwardly extending flange 22, to which is welded a flange 23 extending inwardly from a conical distributer 24, comprising upper and lower cones 26, 27, extending at a uniform distance from each other, and spaced apart by cones being connected by bolts 29 and spacing tubes 31 around said bolts. The upper cone 26 is formed at its upper end with an outwardly flaring mouth 32.

Said door 8 is also formed with a lower discharge hole 33 through which sand from the box 1 is discharged and through this hole is passed from the inside a rectangular tube 34 having a rectangular flange 36, which is bolted as shown at 37, to the door around said hole. On the upper portion of the outer edge of said rectangular tube is secured a flange 38 of an extension guide-way 39 for a gate 41, and secured adjacent to the shown inFig. 6, to extend over the flaring-r mouth 32 of the upper cone 26. It will be seen that the sand from the container will fall through said rectangular tube 34, down said chute into said mouth 32 and be discharged between the upper and lower cones 26, 27 of the distributer when the gate 41 is raised.

To raise said gate, the upper end of the gate is attached to lower endsof links 48 the upper ends of which are pivotally connected to arms 49 on a rock shaft 51, rocking in bearings 52 secured to the door, said rock shaft extending beyond the end of the container and there carrying two crank arms 53, which are pivotally connected to opposite sides of a swivel nut 54, through which is screwed the threaded lower end of a rod 56 having a slidable bearing 55 on the container and extending to a position convenient to be turned on its longitudinal axis by the driver of the machine. Obviously, when the said rod is so turned, the rock shaft 51 is also turned on its axis causing the gates ll to be opened or closed.

The upper end of the shaft 1% is made square, and, when the door, having secured thereon the plates 12 and tube 3% and the parts carried thereby, is placed in position, the upper end of said shaft 1labuts against, and is in vertical alinement with, a lowerend of a square vertical shaft 57, (Fig 5), an upper rounded port-ion of which has its bearing in a tube 58, formed integral with a plate 59 extending obliquely to said tube .and which is adapted to be secured on the upper front wall of the container. On said upper shaft 57 is a coupling 61, which, when said lower shaft id is broughtinto abutment and alinement with the upper shaft 51 drops on to the upper end of said shaft 14: and is arrested by the lower rounded por ion of said shaft, thus automatically coupling the upper and lower shafts together when brought into alinement and abutment. Said couplings 61 when in position are pinned, as shown at 60, to both the upper and lower shafts 57 and 14. For the purpose of obtaining access to the interior of the container to couple or uncouple the couplings 61, there is provided a door 65 in an upper side of said container. Each upper shaft 57 carries, above the bearing 59, a beveled Wheel 63 which meshes with a beveled wheel 64L on a shaft 66, extending parallel with the axis of the container and mounted in bearings 67 formed in the same castings as the bearings 58, said shaft 66 extending be yond the end of the container and through a bearing, 69, thereon and carrying on its outer end a sprocket wheel 71, around which travels a sprocket chain 72 which also travels around the sprocket wheel 78 on the main shaft of the Elgin street sweeping machine,

ends of which are adjacent to its front wheels.

YVith this construction it will be seen that the vertical shafts 14 are rotated by the same mechanism which would otherwise, when the machine is used as a street sweeping machine, be employed to rotate the retary broom 74 of the street sweeper, and thus by the rotary action of the distributers the sand is discharged outwardly between the upward and lower cones thereof and it is found that it is very evenly distributed over the street in a comparatively thin layer. By varying the speed of the motor, as is now done with the street sweeping machine, the centrifugal force can be varied to vary the extent of surface over which the sand is distributed. For the purpose of disconnecting the couplings 57 access can be had to the interior of the container through the door 65 in the upper front side of the box.

The advantage of the convertibility of a street sweeping machine into a sand machine is that the sweeping machine cannot be used in wet weather, which is the mostdesirable, and even necessary, time to use the sanding machine, so that both operations can be performed but with slight additional expense for mechanism. The sand,- ing of streets has become very important of late years, owing to the increased use of automobiles and the deposition of oil on the streets caused thereby, as said sanding is the only means found to be effective in re moving the oil from the streets, said oil being as it is well known, very injurious to the asphalt of asphalt-paved streets.

Apparatus adapted for attachment to the refuse container of a street sweeping machine so as to convert the latter into a sand or grain distributor, which apparatus em bodies in its construction a door adapted to be attached to the refuse container of a street sweeping machine in substitution for the door such as is ordinarily used for closing the discharge opening of the container,

an upright rotary shaft supported by and extending above and below said door, another rotary shaft adapted to be attached to the street sweeping machine so as to extend into the said container and lie in line with and above the first named shaft, means for rotating the last-named shaft adapted for operative association with the street sweeping machine, a coupling carried by the one of the shafts and in which the other shaft is removably received, a distributer supported and operated by the first named shaft and disposed below the door, and a spout ex tending through the door and arranged todischarge into the distributor.

PETER J. OW'EN. 

